[Callers] Hello and a few questions...

Hi Folks, Brand new to the list. I'm one of the organizers for the MondayContras series at the Concord, MA Scout House and have been an avid dancer for just over 4 years now. Hi to those I already know and to those of you I'll get to know from here! I've been an occasional caller for dances on shared evening programs and camper nights, etc. but have my first full evening coming up later this month, which I'm excited about. This is for a smaller regional dance that attracts a mixed crowd of mostly periodic dancers. I've done some basic "how to call" workshops at festivals, etc. but have not taken a formal caller's course. I'm planning to tailor my dance selection to the expected crowd and build in some flexibility to address variability. I'm pretty confident in my dance selection skills but I'm definitely still counting my way through the music to call. So one concern is with making sure I stay firmly anchored to the music, without depending upon the crowd for cues. I craft my calls to fit the phrasing and rehearse with music to get confident but dance breakdowns are a fear. I've come close a couple of times early on but have been able to set things right somehow on the fly... however, I was not very confident doing so at the time. So with that concern, a couple of related questions: - Do you have practiced recovery routines (more than just "get home and swing your partner")? Is that common? Or do most callers just make it up on the spot? - In working with the musicians, are there any customary "I've lost track, where are we in the music?" signals? I look forward to learning from the shared wisdom of the group here and am open to any other tips you may have. Thanks, Don